You Don’t Want to Miss This!

This article was published in the Escape Artist Weekly Newsletter on July 06, 2018. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.

Hello Readers,

I hope this week’s round-up is reaching you after a productive week of work or, even better, an exciting adventure abroad. If you aren’t enjoying the world of expat living, what’s stopping you? If you need an extra nudge in the right direction, today’s newsletter will tell you all about the great events we are holding to help you out.

Also included in this roundup, you’ll read about the future of bananas, a new ruling in Hong Kong that will change things in the city forever, and more!

As always, the newest Escape Artist content can be found at the end of this newsletter. One of our amazing writers has some great tips for traveling solo. Be sure to check it out!

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Unveiling a Piece of History

Fans of the late artist Keith Haring are traveling to the Netherlands to get their eyes on a mural painted by the artist that was recently discovered. For 30 years, the artwork was hidden from public view, which is shocking because the piece is 40 feet tall – the tallest of the pop artist’s public works.

The mural, which shows the figure of a man riding a dog-like animal, is spray painted on Stedelijk Museum’s storage facility. The piece was created in 1986, four years before the artist past away from AIDS-related ailments. The mural was then covered up in 1989 when the museum moved premises.

The project to unveil the piece was led by Aileen Madel, a famous Dutch graffiti artist and Haring fan. The mural was hidden behind panels and is set to be restored by conservationists. The campaign took four years to complete.

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Save the Date!

We have received so much great feedback and help in planning the very first Escape Artist conference! Your contribution to our survey gives us a great idea of what the event will look like, what we will discuss, and how many of you would like to attend. We are excited to announce that the dates and location of the conference have been decided!

Mark Your Calendars for December 1st and 2nd…and book your trip to Dallas, Texas, to meet all of your favorite Escape Artists!

Want to join us? Contact me here.f you would like to reserve your spot, please send me a message and I will personally send you the official invite when it is finalized over the coming weeks. There will also be a 10% discount for anyone who reserves a spot in the month of June. Seats are limited, so act now!

If you’d still like to share your ideas for the conference, you can fill out the surveyhere!

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A Step in the Right Direction

Earlier this week, the highest court of Hong Kong has ruled that same-sex couples living in the city can now receive spousal visas, a visa option that was formerly only offered to heterosexual couples.

This has been noted as a huge step for the future of LGBT rights in the city.

It has taken four years since the case was first introduced in 2014 by a woman and her partner looking to seek the spousal visa. The original case was lost in 2016 due to sexual orientation. Last fall, however, the Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the visa policy was discriminatory.

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Save the Banana!

Bananas as we know them may be at risk! Most of the bananas that we consume around the world, known as Cavendish, are vulnerable to a plant pest that causes Panama disease. This disease is currently posing a real threat to the future of bananas, so there is a rush to develop a new variety of the fruit that resists the disease and still tastes good.

A wild banana found only in Madagascar could hold the answer to the problem. The only issue with this solution is there are only five mature trees of these bananas left, making the plant nearly extinct!

The species of banana, Ensete perrieri, is believed to have the genetic traits that could fight the disease. Speculation cannot be confirmed until it is saved.

So, for the time being, you can still buy your bananas, as the disease is confined to Asia – but if the disease spreads to other parts of the world, bananas could be in danger of complete extinction.

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Don’t Miss Out!

If you are interested in the upcoming EA conference, you may also like our Global Primer Web Series. In this series, our experts are offering you year-round advice, tips, and tricks about beginning your life abroad.

Thank you for reading this week’s round-up! If you’re interested in learning what it’s like to become an expat, don’t hesitate to ask some questions. At Escape Artist, we aim to ensure that your travels abroad run as smoothly as they can.

For more information on what’s going on in the international scene, check out some of this week’s newest articles!

P.S.Do you have questions about how to live abroad and what the experience is like? Are you looking for international investment opportunities? Want to meet like-minded people who are in the same boat as you? Come hang out with other EA readers and the Escape Artist staff! We will be hosting an event this year and can’t wait to meet you!

Click here to find out more informationand to stay in the loop on locations and dates! It’s important that this event be exactly what YOU want – no alternate agenda or product pitches! This is about answering YOUR questions! In order for the event to be a success, take a second to fill out this survey. By sending us your thoughts, you can tailor the event to your specific overseas needs. We will also be supplying a 10% discount during registration to everyone that filled out the survey to make the event possible!

With all that Mexico has to offer expats, it is no wonder this country is growing in popularity among retirees. It has gorgeous beaches, culture and history, fresh local produce at a fraction of the cost of what they’re used to paying, and gorgeous homes for much less. In Mexico, you can enjoy a better life for a lot less than what you’d have to pay in most other countries. Even better, for those coming from Canada or the United States, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump away from home. That really adds to the appeal.

Sometimes, plans don’t come together as we’d like and we have to carpe diem and travel alone. Or, maybe you just prefer to travel alone. It can be a more enjoyable experience, after all. You can abide by your own schedule, do the things you want to do, and visit the sights you want to see without having anyone to butt heads with over the finer details.

Traveling alone can also mean meeting fellow travelers and joining together for adventures you may not have had otherwise. You can join tour groups and…

When you think of traveling south of the United States border, you usually have your sights set on one of the highly famous resorts in Mexico, or Rio de Janeiro, or Buenos Aires. Those are typically the top spots that come to mind. Next time you’re heading to Latin America, consider adding a new destination to your trip. Take a side journey or reroute your original plan to learn about somewhere new. Here are a few places to consider while you’re out and about:

Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena is a port city on the Caribbean, and it is one of Colombia’s more…

People all over are inquiring about how to gain residency in Mexico. More and more travelers and retirees are finding that there are major benefits to living in this country. Many baby boomers who are now retiring give the same general reasons for choosing to relocate there, and they all add up to this: you can enjoy a better quality of life for less. As the cost of living keeps rising in the United States (and across most of the world’s more advanced economies) and inflation is on the rise, it makes sense that anyone would want to go to a place where more costs less.

Take that sizable benefit and combine it with Mexico’s abundance of gorgeous beaches, fresh tropical produce, and…

Timber is known as an alternative asset since it is a different kind of investment than your regular stocks and bonds. Big investors like university endowments (ahem, Harvard), insurance companies, and even investing legend Jeremy Grantham all allocate money to timberland. They generally do so in places like Oregon for fir and spruce, Georgia for pine, or Appalachia for hardwood. Over the last 15 years, even retail investors have jumped in on the action, with the introduction of two timber-focused ETFs and the new forest-products companies of Weyerhaeuser and Rayonier. So, what’s all the fuss about?

According to the company for which Grantham is a co-founder, Grantham, Mayo, & van Otterloo, timber has risen steadily in price for 200 years and has returned an average of 6.5 percent per year during the last century. GMO is predicting a…

Escape Artist is a community of individuals and organizations that have a shared interest in international living, working, traveling, investing and retiring. For many, many years now, Escape Artist has been bringing these like-minded individuals together. What it has resulted in is one of the strongest online communities in the world for those looking to take their lifestyles international.